Dancers from the RIOULT Dance NY display their technical skills and athleticism by holding these difficult
positions in their first dance “Celestial Tides.” 
The Lion's Roar / McKenzie DeSandro 
 

The audience stood in awe as the dancers of the RIOULT Dance NY troupe took the stage of the Columbia Theatre, showing grace, athleticism and sensuality.

The troupe came to Hammond for their show on Sunday, Nov. 10 as a part of their three-week tour of Mississippi and Louisiana. 

The company founder and seasoned dancer, Pascal Rioult, joined to see the experience his dancers brought to the various stages in the Southeast.

“Like a good piece of architecture, it is based in classical form because or else, the building won’t stand, but it has a twist that makes it contemporary,” said Rioult. “The movement is very sensual, and it’s also emotional. The audience will always get an emotional connection out of it, even if there’s no story to follow.”

Members of the audience raved, not only about the emotional connections, but also about the physical shape of the dancers and the hard work behind the physiques. 

“It’s riveting, beautiful, beautiful dancing, extremely artistic, but also impressively athletic. They look like athletes,” said music professor Kenneth Boulton. “It’s a very high level of dancing. Very artistic in terms of its depth and movement and choreography.”

The company put on four different numbers, each with a different theme, style of music and background. Throughout the dances, there was a great deal of partner work.

The dance troupe used their body language, setting, costume and music to center on social issues in the second piece, “Wien.” Six dancers circled around the stage, representing an entire city. Some dancers symbolized death while others portrayed rising success. The movements represented the fleeting nature of good fortune. 

“After the first piece, I didn’t think they could top it, and then each piece kept getting better and better,” said Julie Murry, a former dance instructor to one of the troupe’s dancers. “I loved the abstractness of it all, and the darkness. I’ve seen so many companies in New York, and this just topped it.”

Murry now works as an instructor for Body Expressions dance studio in Mandeville. She coaches students in hopes they will reach the skill level of her former student, Sara Seeger of RIOULT Dance NY.

“I didn’t get into Juliard, so [my parents] gave me an ultimatum. Like ‘we’ll pay your rent, but if you don’t get a job in two years, we’ll use your college money to send you somewhere else,” said Seeger. “After about a year and a half, I got on with RIOULT.”

For more information on upcoming events at the Columbia Theatre, go to columbiatheatre.org.

They have come to Hammond on a three week-long tour. The contemporary performers
portrayed grace and sensuality in addition to addressing social issues through dance. 
The Lion's Roar / McKenzie DeSandro